都柏林四大象限｜The Graph of Dublin

Today we are going to take some time to talk about four kinds of people one can see on the streets of Dublin. If you pay a little attention at the side of the road, you can easily distinguish these four types and find your own place in one of the categories, too.

This type of people, use not only their eyes and legs but also their determinations to cross the streets. If you see someone cross the street with such confidence when it is red light, you’d know this person is either a Dubliner or someone has been living in Dublin for quite some time. For some weird reasons, perhaps because of the interference of the tram system, traffic lights in Dublin are very unreliable for pedestrians. Often you see one side of the road shows red light but the pedestrian signal still doesn’t light up. Sometimes you would be waiting at a crossroad with no cars coming from both sides whatsoever but the traffic lights are still a no go. If you have been living in Dublin for a while, you’d know if you take the traffic lights too seriously you’d be late to many places and for numerous occasions. However this type of people don’t just cross the streets at will. They cross the streets exercising their common sense and the knowledge they have of the city. They know when to cross safely and where to cross without leading themselves into troubles. For example, you can always cross the streets when you are parallel to a moving tram; you can always make a move when a street is a one-way traffic and there comes no vehicles in sight. You can’t always cross the road even when the signal for pedestrian is on if the bus can make a turn that intercepts your way. You can’t always compete with the tram and try to make your way ahead of it. Though a tram slows down at crossroads it is still dangerous to be in front of it and we don’t want to scar those drivers for life. Sometimes you may want to run a yellow light, nevertheless it is highly unrecommended since you never know if a speedy, crazy driver is around or not. If one knows well of the streets and blocks in the neighborhood and uses traffic lights as a reference. I’d say she/he has fully comprehended the nature of Dublin’s traffics and has grown into a responsible adult who crosses the streets with wisdom.

The second type of people follow traffic lights wherever they go. When they witness the first type of people made a cross, they always seem very frightened and surprised but still watch in awe. They don’t understand how can the first type of people be so confident and assured about themselves when it comes to crossing the streets. They witness them cross safely and break through the limitations of traffic lights, it stimulates a surge of something unknown in their hearts. They would reckon that this is Dublin. This type of people are tourists. Tourists in Dublin enjoy the hustling and bustling of the city with their eyes and senses, they wound’t pay much attention to the changes of the signals. They take pictures of the city, of themselves and discover that there are seagulls everywhere, they find out there are many donut shops in the city but they fail to seize the right moment to cross the streets. By the time they realize they have waited too long, they take a step but only to be taken back by a speedy car passing right in front of them. They don’t know the hidden rules of the traffic lights so they spend a great deal of time waiting for the signals. While people are busying making their crossing, they remain still and seem to be in the moment more than any one else. This type of people successfully follow the traffic lights however they didn’t realize how fast these signals change. They always take their time to cross and are still in the middle of the street when the signal turns red. Cars coming towards them honking at them, they squeak ecstatically and rush themselves out of the streets. Chances are the crossing streets will later become one of their many fond memories in Dublin.

The third type of people have successfully deleted the concept of traffic lights from their brains. What is a red light? Is it edible? Isn’t green light my ex or something? I think I can run faster than a tram, no? Even buses are afraid of my presence. All the roads are my toilets. Yes, it is default for this type of people that they just don’t see the traffic lights. They use their feelings to cross the streets. They are particularly confident in their street crossing skills, they believe their walking speed is faster than an average person’s running speed and they run like they’re flying. You can cross any streets as long as you take that one step. This type of people, unfortunately, are alcohol or substance abusers on the streets of Dublin. Dublin is a nice city however it is undeniable that it has its problems. Even on the busiest streets of city center you can still see overly drunk people or drug users. Owning to the abuse of certain substances, these people have lost their senses and sometimes cross the streets dangerously. They not only put themselves in danger but are also hazardous to others. I’ve seen a pretty drunk man brushed pass a tram and I have seen a disoriented person made his way through a crossroad while drivers had to break sharply or shout at his recklessness and all the pedestrians watched in horror. As the night falls, these people begin to emerge and make this city’s traffics even more crazy.

The last type of people have a certain understanding of Dublin’s traffics. However understanding still spells differently to implementing. They want to utilize their knowledge and master the art of street crossing but there is still a lot to learn. These people have picked up how to observe the speed and directions of cars. They know traffic lights are there just for reference. However, 9 out of 10 times when they try to cross the streets they hesitate. They aren’t sure about their own judgement. They impatiently, repeatedly press the pedestrian button while waiting. When they see the first type of people walking on the streets, they follow their footsteps; when they wait behind the second type pf people holding back by the traffic lights, deep down they believe that they are both waiting but essentially they are not the same; when they witness another reckless third kind, they sigh and reflect on the fact that this is the real side to the city. These people are those who just arrived in Dublin and try to make a living, the fresh ones. They know the city and they don’t know the city. They just don’t have enough confidence in themselves yet. If it goes smoothly at work, they appear to walk more briskly; if they have quarrels with colleagues, they suddenly feel strange to the city and its streets all over again. They try to conquer their fear of traffics, they want to be able to cross at ease. Nevertheless they know it is not something that can be asked and answered right away, they have to make effort and practice daily. The only way is to walk more, to learn more and hopefully one day they’ll see the silver lining behind the grey clouds of Dublin. One day, they will become more than what they are, there will be a day when they can cross the streets without fear, hesitation and with less homesickness.

太太現在已經是清新脫俗的一類人。

As for me, I’m now a proud type one.

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